Quiet fan!!

Django x2 · 23 Sep 2009 at 12:29

Hi guys,

I know you probably see posts like this all the time, so I apologise in advance.

I have an HTPC with the massive scythe ninja heat sink. It 'just' fits in the case. I've been running a Nexus fan SP8025 (apparently, the worlds quietest fan).

Is there anything better than this? It's running PWM off the cpufan header and it's set to quiet in the BIOS but I'd like something even quieter really.

I suppose I could drop it's voltage?

Also, is there a pwm controller for PSU fans too? I want to really trim down the noise.

TIA

shadowscotland · 23 Sep 2009 at 13:10

why not just remove the fan and run the ninja passively?

full system spec would also help
Is the graphic card noisy / passive
are your HHD in bungee cradles
is your psu fan noisy?
case and number/size of case fans?

7v mod on most fans make a MAJOR differance

Django x2 · 23 Sep 2009 at 14:00

shadowscotland said:
why not just remove the fan and run the ninja passively?

full system spec would also help
Is the graphic card noisy / passive
are your HHD in bungee cradles
is your psu fan noisy?
case and number/size of case fans?

7v mod on most fans make a MAJOR differance

Hi, sorry, yeah that would have helped!

Spec is:

Asus P5Q-EM Intel G45 with onboard gfx
Intel Core 2 Duo E8400
4GB RAM
Bugee cradles = check (plus they are laptop drives
No case fans running (OrigenAE S14v)
PSU fan could do with trimming some noise off it. Can't remember the make off the top of my head. Will look later

shadowscotland · 23 Sep 2009 at 14:12

Nice case - but naff little extract fans,
Looks like you already made it quieter, so good job on that front

Undervolt the E8400 (if it's not already) and try running it with just the psu as an extract fan.
Keep a close eye on temps for a few days
If it's noisy still, consider a spcr recomened psu.
I've run a silverstone CW01 with an exermax liberty as the only fan, was only audible at night and the 82+ is a even better

Getting rid of the psu fan is an expensive option - happy to help if you do go down that road but try a quiet fan psu first.
At low load the internal fans spin at 800rpm and real are inaudible for most situations.

Django x2 · 23 Sep 2009 at 14:19

to what??

shadowscotland · 23 Sep 2009 at 14:38

Oops sorry - major edit above
If you are asking to what volts - as low as it will go.
At stock clocks I can get my E8200 stable at 1v on a P5Q

Try 1.2v and keep dropping the voltage after a duel 8million superPi run then drop it again
From personal experiance undervolting is not like overclocking - it either works or it doesn't
there are no loads into windows, runs a SuperPI/games but fails prime issues with undervolting.
Usually it reboots within a second of hitting load or it's stable.
A mild underclock my help but if you encode you'll want to keep your core speed.

I hope your board is ok for undervolting and a bios clear is easy - I guess it simular to my P5Q vanilia

Django x2 · 24 Sep 2009 at 10:24

ok, I've removed the fan but have not undercloced the CPU yet. Its been running all night and seems stable. Played a BD last night and ripped some discs too. All seems ok.

shadowscotland · 24 Sep 2009 at 10:28

you might not need to underclock it - a small undervolt give same performance but with less heat.

Did it make a differance in noise level?
Is psu fan running faster or the same?